Cheaper Hootsuite alternatives for freelance social media managers
Hootsuite starts at $99 a user per month. Here are cheaper Hootsuite alternatives that suit a freelance social media manager with a handful of clients.
Hootsuite was the first social media tool a lot of us ever used. Back then it had a free plan and you could run a few accounts from one dashboard without paying a thing.
That Hootsuite is gone. Today it calls itself a "Social OS", sells to brands like Adidas and Adobe, and prices accordingly. If you're a freelancer with three or four clients, you're paying for a tool designed around a 20-person marketing department.
This guide covers what Hootsuite costs now, and the alternatives that make more sense when it's just you. Prices are from each company's pricing page in October 2026. Koda is our product, so we've stuck to published figures and linked every source.
What Hootsuite costs in 2026
Hootsuite's plans page lists three self-serve tiers, all priced per user per month and billed yearly:
- Standard from $99, covering up to 10 social accounts
- Professional from $199, for unlimited accounts and more automation
- Advanced from $399, which adds content approval workflows and team routing
Those prices are in US dollars and don't include VAT. For a UK freelancer, Standard alone is roughly £75 a month plus VAT before you've earned anything from it.
The bigger issue is approvals. If your clients sign off posts before they go live, Hootsuite puts that on Advanced. Nobody starting out needs to spend $399 a month to send a client a preview.
To be fair to Hootsuite, it does a lot. Social listening, competitor benchmarking, AI trend forecasting and a proper customer care inbox all come with it. The 14-day trial doesn't ask for a card either. It's a good product for the customers it's built for. A solo SMM isn't one of them.
What a freelancer needs instead
Before comparing tools, it helps to be honest about what you'll use every week. For most freelancers that's a short list.
You need a calendar per client, so one client's posts never end up on another's page. You need a scheduler that publishes to Instagram and Facebook without you holding your phone at 7pm. You need a way for clients to approve posts that doesn't involve a 14-message email thread. And at the end of the month, you need a report that shows the client what they paid for.
Listening, sentiment tracking and ad management are useful, but most solo SMMs never open them. Paying for them is the main reason Hootsuite feels expensive.
The alternatives
Buffer
Buffer is the simplest swap. It charges per connected channel instead of per user, so you pay for what you manage. The free plan covers three channels. Essentials costs $5 per channel per month billed yearly, and Team (which adds approvals and unlimited users) costs $10 per channel.
Three clients with Instagram and Facebook is six channels: $30 a month without approvals, $60 with. Buffer also covers networks Hootsuite does, like X and LinkedIn, plus newer ones like Bluesky.
Metricool
If you liked Hootsuite's analytics, Metricool is the closest match at a fraction of the price. Starter is €16 a month billed yearly for up to five brands. It includes unlimited scheduling, analysis of up to 100 competitor profiles, and PDF or PowerPoint reports you can send to clients.
Approvals and client access sit on Advanced, from €43 a month for 15 brands. Even so, that's around a tenth of Hootsuite Advanced.
Later
Later sits in the middle. The Growth plan, at $37.50 a month billed yearly, gives you two social sets (one of each platform per client), approvals, a social inbox and a year of analytics. Each extra client is $11.25 a month. It's well suited to Instagram and TikTok-heavy work.
Koda
Koda is a UK-built tool for freelance social media managers, priced in pounds. The Freelancer plan is £19 a month for up to three clients. Studio is £29 for up to 10 clients and unlimited team members, and Agency is £39 for 25.
Every plan includes every feature, so approvals are there from day one. Clients approve or request changes from a link, with no login. Koda also covers the parts of the job Hootsuite doesn't touch, like moodboards and shoot plans for briefing each video before filming. Branded monthly reports email to the client in one click.
Instagram is the most fully supported platform, with publishing, analytics, comments and DMs in one inbox. Facebook Pages, TikTok and LinkedIn publishing are live as well. If you need X or Pinterest, it isn't the right fit yet.
Price comparison for a three-client freelancer
| Tool | Plan with client approvals | Monthly cost | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hootsuite | Advanced | $399 per user | USD, yearly |
| Metricool | Advanced (15 brands) | €43 | EUR, yearly |
| Buffer | Team (6 channels) | $60 | USD, yearly |
| Later | Growth + 1 extra set | $48.75 | USD, yearly |
| Koda | Freelancer (3 clients) | £19 | GBP, monthly |
If you don't need approvals at all, Buffer Essentials and Metricool Starter are both cheaper still.
Moving off Hootsuite
If you're mid-contract, check your renewal date first. Hootsuite's lowest prices are on annual billing, so you may already be paid up for months.
When you're ready, move one client at a time. Rebuild their next two weeks in the new tool, send one post through the new approval flow so they see how it works, then cancel the old schedule. Most freelancers can move a client in an afternoon.
FAQ
Does Hootsuite still have a free plan?
No. Its plans page lists Standard, Professional, Advanced and Enterprise, with a 14-day free trial on the first three.
What's the cheapest Hootsuite alternative with approvals?
Among the tools we priced, Koda's Freelancer plan at £19 a month is the lowest, followed by Metricool Advanced and Later Growth.
Is a UK-based tool better for UK freelancers?
It can be simpler. Paying in pounds means your bill doesn't move with the exchange rate, and support works in your time zone. Feature fit should still decide it.